The Magic Lands (26 page)

Maybe.

Dredger stood on the brow of
the hilltop and gazed down upon the lost city of Hydan. It was just
as it had been in his dream.

At his side Geheimnis waited,
his mask alive with mirth. "And so," he began softly, "we are
here." He paused to glance at the warrior. "How does it feel to
meet your destiny?"

Dredger scowled, not looking at
the other man. "I think it is time you learnt the truth about me,
for I no longer require your attendance. You have served your
purpose. I bid you farewell and good riddance."

Geheimnis appeared to regard
him carefully from beneath his mask. "My intrepid friend, don’t you
know you are an open book to me. You have no need to reveal
anything to me." He tilted his head to one side, as if considering
this and then continued. "But you are correct in one respect. It is
time that the truth was learnt. Not least by you, dear
Dredger."

With a low chuckle, Dredger
came close to the masked man and looked hard into his shadowy eyes.
"You speak well," he chided, now using his companion's tools of
mockery and contempt. "But I think your words are
empty…meaningless." His lips curled into a ferocious snarl. "You
said this is your home, not seen for aeons. So what are you? What
manner of beast? What is beneath that mask? A freak!? Is your face
so disfigured and hideous that you are ashamed to show it? Or do
you hide another secret? You may think me stupid, but I am not.
Since our first meeting I have suspected your true identity and now
I am certain of it."

The two men now stood inches
apart, Dredger's breath touching the austere surface of Geheimnis'
mask.

"And so who am I, may I ask?"
the masked man said gently, his smile jubilant.

"The creature whom I
seek!" cried Dredger, his fingers brushing the blade at his side.
"
You
are the Second
Beast."

Geheimnis' mask immediately
became blank. "And you, Dredger my friend," he hissed, "are a
fool."

As he touched the handle of the
cellar door, an odd, inexplicable feeling of dread ran through him.
The sensation faded rapidly, but he had to pause and collect
himself before he was ready to enter the room. Within, he knew, the
badger was waiting for him.

Once inside the ill-lit
doorway, trying to adjust his eyes to the blackness, he searched
below for the animal's hiding place. He knew very well that the
badger would be hiding. After all, what option did it have? There
was no way to escape.

He cleared his throat
nervously, the sound reverberating in the hollow darkness as if it
were a living thing, growing in volume until it seemed inhuman and
menacing. This made him all the more uneasy, but he was determined
to carry out his Master's mandate, his fear of failure outweighing
all else. So reaching to his right he flicked a switch at the head
of the staircase that would cut off the electric current and allow
him to descend.

He had hoped as he entered,
that he might dimly see the animal's carcass sprawled out upon the
stairs. But obviously, his prisoner was not that foolish. It simply
meant that he would have to do the job personally.

But still something nagged at
him, a persistent doubt. There was something about the badger's
attitude, something in the way the creature had spoken to him, that
had unsettled him, his confidence shaken.

I must not let my imagination
get the better of me. The Master is the law of the land. Nothing
can stand against it.

Tentatively he began his
descent, treading very precisely, step by slow step, ready to act
upon the slightest movement. The small pistol was held tightly in
his left hand, his finger twitching rhythmically against the
trigger.

On the final step he hesitated,
uncertain of what to do next. He felt certain the animal was
watching him from the shadows, perhaps preparing to attack and he
did not want to give it that chance. But there was no hint as to
where the creature might be lurking, the silence becoming
maddening.

Lowering the gun to his side
and masking it with his hand, he spoke into the gloom. "If you show
yourself, perhaps we can strike a bargain."

Behind him, at the top of the
stairs, the soft pad of paws made him spin around sharply and in
the shadow-light above, he saw a flash of white amidst the
darkness.

"Too late for bargains," said a
voice and he screamed silently, his eyes alive with fear,
astonishment registering for a brief moment before with an almost
inaudible click, the switch was thrown. "Too late," repeated the
voice as a sickening smell of charred flesh filled the air.

Tom led the way with Jack close
behind. They had ventured along many bleak hallways since they had
watched the guests at the Ball from their overhead hiding place.
Now they were completely lost, having no idea if they were on the
ground floor or the top.

"We’re not getting anywhere
like this," grumbled Jack, his apprehension growing with every
moment that passed. "I know it's dangerous but don't you think we
should take a look in some of these rooms?"

"But suppose somebody's already
in there?" Tom responded, coming to a halt in front of a row of
panelled doors..

"What choice do we have," Jack
argued, "and anyway, Mo could be inside one of these rooms, tied up
or something."

Tom studied a large wooden door
to his left and with a shrug, he reached out a tentative hand and
touched the door handle. "They're probably all locked. If you were
holding someone prisoner, wouldn't you lock the door?"

"There's only way to find
out."

Tom gently pulled the handle
down and pushed the door a few inches ajar and then turned to look
at Jack. "What now?"

Jack stepped forward and peered
through the gap into darkness. There was no light within and
nothing stirred. All was silent and still. "I think it's empty," he
whispered, listening intently.

An unpleasant idea surfaced in
Tom's head. What if the Wolf was inside there? What if it was just
waiting in there for them, crouching in the dark.

"Mo might still be in there,"
Jack said reluctantly, not wanting to enter into the blackness
beyond the door. "He could be hurt."

Tom inched forward, trying to
resist the tide of fear that threatened to engulf him. "I'll go
first, but stay close to me." He sounded a good deal braver than he
actually felt.

Pushing the door open a little
wider, Tom stepped inside. As he passed over the threshold,
lanterns set upon the walls ignited into low flame that gradually
grew stronger until the room was brightly lit.

The Wolf
was
waiting for him, grinning with
hideous mirth.

Behind him the door closed with
an ominous click.

"Jack," he murmured, almost
choking on the word, not daring to look back. But there was no
reply, only the ticking of a clock somewhere within the room.

A scream began to rise inside
him, but he could only stand there, eyes fixed on the drooling
beast. He knew he must turn around, must run. But he also knew the
door would be shut, his friend gone. He looked anyway and saw with
only mild surprise that where there had been a door moments before
there was now just a wall, a faded portrait of a cadaverous old man
peering down from above him. The sunken eyes seemed to be alive,
twinkling with some monstrous intelligence and Tom turned quickly
away, his fear so great now that he legs were like jelly and he
wobbled on his feet, certain he would fall.

He was alone. One boy against
the Beast.

"Now the odds are even,"
breathed a voice at his ear.

Dredger's blade was poised to
strike.

In his mind, only the smallest
doubt remained. If he killed the masked man now, without further
discussion, the trial would be over.

But what if he was wrong?

Hesitating, the warrior waited
for some show of hostility from Geheimnis, some sign, however
vague, that he was truly the enemy. But the man only stood silently
inert, his shadowed eyes watchful. He made no attempt to draw his
sword and this more than anything else caused Dredger's doubts to
become greater still.

"Why do you falter?" came
Geheimnis' voice suddenly, almost making the warrior start.

Strike now.
Before it is too late!
But still something stayed his
hand. Dredger opened his mouth to speak, but no words would form
upon his dry lips.
Kill the masked
clown!
demanded a brutal inner voice.

But I may be wrong.

"Tell me who you are?" Dredger
said finally, indecision holding him tightly in a stifling
embrace.

Why not end the fool's life
now? Uncertainty had never afflicted him before. Always he had done
what needed to be done, he had made hard decisions and stood by
them unflinchingly. If men had to die in the name of justice, then
so be it. But this was different somehow. Something within him was
stirring, a profound sensation, powerful beyond measure.

"Can you feel it now?" said the
masked man quietly, but with a force that Dredger recognised as
final and undeniable. Slowly Dredger lowered his blade and within
Geheimnis' mask a light began to glimmer until it flowed from his
eyes in a stream of golden fire. "Knowledge is a wonderful thing,"
he said with a tenderness that the warrior would never have
believed possible in the man he had come to know and despise. But
now, another was before him, an alien creature who pulsed with a
wondrous radiance, rays of coloured light shooting out from every
part of his body. "And knowledge is a dangerous thing," Geheimnis
added, his mask now almost translucent, blue and yellow sparks
playing across its surface. The sky began to darken rapidly and
whilst shadows grew about them, the wind howled. "Ah, so the night
returns," he breathed, his glowing eyes set upon Dredger. "You came
here to do battle with that whom you name the Second Beast, and yet
there is but one Beast, although it goes by many names. You have
come thus far knowing a great deal less than you ever realised, but
that is of no consequence. Truth is all Mankind can ever really
hold high, there is nothing of value to be gained from any other
victory. Ultimate truth, however, is as far removed from your
natural laws as real magic is from mere illusion, and the only
trick involved is telling them apart." He paused a moment,
affecting a curious half-smile that seemed to melt into a jagged
sneer as his mask continued to blaze with unnatural light. "Now,
warrior, it is time you learnt your own truth. You call me the
Second Beast, but that is not my name. I am the master of Hydan and
the great secret I have kept safe for so long is that the Second
Beast has not yet been born. Only now can the birth proceed. So
now, look upon the face of the one whom you seek. It is one you
already know. Here, find your truth...the revelations are all for
you." Geheimnis took a step backward and raised his hands to his
face. "Behold!" He tore away the mask and cast it aside to reveal
the face beneath and horrified, Dredger gazed into the eyes of a
man he knew very well. He looked upon himself.

"The beast within," said the
man with his face and with incredible speed drew the sword at his
side. "And so the game continues," Dredger's mirror image cried, a
smile dancing in his eyes.

Dredger raised his blade and
prepared to fight. He had no understanding of what had taken place
there before him, or of what this creature who had his face might
be, but he sensed that this at last was the moment of his testing,
where finally he would prove himself a match for the dark powers of
the Wolf.

But now, as he confronted his
own reflection, he wondered, curiously if he would be a match for
himself.

"Little boys," chuckled the
Beast softly, "just little boys. And you hope to challenge me?"

Tom's chest felt very tight and
he struggled for breath. He kept his eyes low, afraid to look at
the creature before him, trying to control his racing heart, but
panic was fast taking command of his mind and he feared that at any
moment he would collapse.

The bright eyes of the Wolf
surveyed him with interest. "Now," it coaxed, "shall we talk like
reasonable men? After all, I feel it is only right to do so, for I
see now that I have been unkind. I should have called you a man
from the first, for that is what you are, are you not?"

"Yes!" shouted Tom as boldly as
he could manage, throwing an arm out wildly and pointing at the
Beast. "I am, but you're not!" He immediately dropped his head,
feeling useless and knowing that he was beaten.

He heard the Wolf sigh, as if a
little hurt. "I don't think you're giving me my dues, Tom my man. I
think that you ought to take a closer look."

Very slowly, terror and anger
struggling for supremacy, Tom met the eyes of a man seated before
him at a large mahogany desk. He appeared to be quite young, no
more than thirty or so and he shuffled some papers before tucking
them away inside a drawer.

"There's a lot of work to be
done, Tom. Accounts to be kept. But don't concern yourself, I'm on
top of it." He flashed a good-natured smile at the boy. "Everything
will be just fine."

Tom felt as though more than
time had become disjointed and confused. It was as if his whole
life was now no more than a waking nightmare, an alien landscape
where fantasy and reality were one and the same. "What do you want
from me?" he asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

"Well," began the man, his eyes
glittering strangely. "For one thing, I would like my map
back."

"Your map?" repeated Tom, his
anger rising.

"Yes indeed, it is my map. I
thought that you knew that."